Dozens Of Republicans Back Bill To Legalize Non-Citizen Farm Workers

President Donald Trump handily defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024, running on a core set of objectives that included stringent border security and mass deportation of illegal aliens.

Since taking office, Trump has largely kept those promises, with border crossings falling dramatically and ongoing deportations.

But in recent days, the president has faced a growing number of defections from GOP lawmakers who have signed onto legislation that would grant legal status to farm laborers in the country illegally, following growing concerns from farmers who are worried they won’t be able to harvest their crops.

As such, House Agriculture Committee Chairman G.T. Thompson has proposed a broad expansion of a federal farm labor program that would allow certain undocumented immigrants working in U.S. agriculture to apply for temporary legal status.

The long-awaited legislation, which the Pennsylvania Republican formally introduced Tuesday, closely reflects the priorities that the dairy industry and other labor-intensive agricultural sectors have advocated.

Those industries have urged Congress to expand legal workforce options, arguing they face persistent labor shortages that they say have been intensified by Trump-era immigration policies.